A Sandstorm Passing By
by TheBeastThatLostItsPlaceToGo
Summary: Inspired by a friend, I wrote this. What if the random TF141 Sandman was the same guy as the Sandman from Modern Warfare 3? Delta team METAL joins Task Force 141, starting with the takedown in Rio.


-For disclaimer, see profile.-

**Chapter I-Takedown**

Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

15:08:18

Things were eerily quiet as four men sat idle in a "borrowed" sedan. Clad in casual, all-black attire, the foursome quietly passed the time, staring at the coupe a few cars in front of them. A voice sounded over the MBITR radios the men were carrying on their laps, away from prying eyes. A van drove by and sped off. The black coupe turned its engine on and followed the van. The driver of the sedan flashed a quick grin and turned the ignition.

"This is Charlie Team, moving in." The passenger called into his MBITR radio, hoping that Alpha Team leader wasn't too distracted to hear his transmission. The objective was fairly easy enough to accomplish. Simply follow Alpha Team from a distance while they and Bravo Team close in on the target.

For being a Task Force 141 mission, it sounded like a piece of cake. Seeing the grin on his driver's face, the passenger shook his head with a chuckle. The four men were selected to be Charlie Team and a permanent fireteam within the Task Force due to their backgrounds. They were some of the rare American members of Task Force 141 and had all been pulled directly out of the US Army's elusive Delta Force, albeit at separate times. All of them, however, did all come out of Delta's A Squadron and had worked together on several operations.

Compared to everything he had been through, with Delta and TF141, this was going to be an easy job for the team leader known as Sandman. An experienced operator, he cracked his neck as he gripped his weapon a little tighter. Preferring an M4A1, Sandman was a little upset with his issued Heckler & Koch MP7. Being the backup team meant they needed to keep their cover, even if the other teams were engaged in combat. Sandman, as well as the rest of Charlie Team, griped about the smaller sub-machine guns but Captain MacTavish insisted.

A few months away from his 47th birthday, Master Sergeant Jason "Sandman" Fieldman pulled at his black polo shirt. The team was told to keep civilian clothes on for this Op. Over his body armor, he wore a black polo by 5.11 Tactical and black Levi jeans. He was a little unsure about going in without his usual gear, but at least he got to wear the body armor under his shirt.

"Hey boss, Alpha's stopping." The driver known as Truck called.

"Pull over on the side right here. Keep eyes on. Can you see the van?"

The operator sitting behind Truck, known as Grinch, peered over Truck's head. "Yeah, it's stopped as well. They're in front of Alpha."

Keeping his blue eyes trained on the street in front of him, Sandman put on his Oakley Half-Jackets and hoped this mission was almost over. "Then we're almost home boys."

The Task Force's Executive Officer 1st Lieutenant Simon "Ghost" Riley's voice came over the radio. _"__Any sign of Rojas or his right hand man?"_

_ "Negative,"_ MacTavish, "_Wait, they've stopped again. Standby."_

Two men stepped out of the van and approached a building. A newcomer stepped out of the building. Sandman immediately knew that he was looking at Rojas' right hand man and the plane ride home was so much closer.

Then the man pulled out a Desert Eagle and shot the two men right in the chest at point blank range. A third man jumped out of the van with an AK-47 at the ready, but he barely made it three feet before he was downed by the weapon's dealer. Suddenly his attention was on the coupe a few cars ahead of Charlie Team and the man opened fire. MacTavish's voice could be heard over the radio, telling his Alpha Team to get down. The shooter ran away, a car horn sounding continuously.

The Task Force just lost another member.

Sandman could see Captain MacTavish chasing the man on foot with Sergeant Gary "Roach" Sanderson close behind.

"Let's move, bail now! Leave the car, we're on foot." Sandman barked orders and the four men dismounted the black sedan.

With MBITR radios in their back pockets and MP7s in their hands, the foursome approached the coupe used by Alpha Team and saw the aftermath. Without missing a beat, the former Delta led his men through the streets of Rio, hoping to catch up to MacTavish and their target. In the distance, he could see Bravo Team trying to join the chase. From a side alley, a single gunshot sounded.

Despite being a great shape and not wearing the same gear the others were, Charlie team arrived way after the others. Captain MacTavish and Ghost had the target sitting down in a chair and the XO was getting a little happy, playing with an old car battery. Time to find out what he knew.

"Guys, this is going to take some time." MacTavish ordered. "Ghost and I will stay here and handle him. I need you guys to move into the favelas and find Rojas."

The Scot looked at Ghost's Bravo Team. "Meat, Royce, I want you guys with Roach towards the east. Take the medic with you. Sandman, I want you in full battle-rattle, so get your gear from the trunk and start looking west. Take care of the bodies first; see if you can find anything worthwhile. Delta, you take overwatch. Ozone, Scarecrow, downstairs. Protect the snipers. Archer, Toad, upstairs. Full cover over the area. I want you able to see all teams at all times."

Not a word was said about the downed operator. Not a word was needed. Being the closest team to him, it would be Sandman's Charlie Team that would handle the recovery. The four men jogged back to their abandoned sedan and popped the trunk. They had stashed their gear and weapons in the back in case of emergencies. Now the entire militia would be after them and there was a chance of rounds flying in their direction.

After kitting up, Sandman walked up to driver side of the coupe. He ran a hand through his blonde hair and opened the door. Bearcat's body was still slumped over the steering wheel. Feeling a hand on his shoulder, Sandman looked up and saw Truck's sad grimace. As the gunner pulled Bearcat's body out of the coupe and set him on the ground, Sandman walked back to the sedan and grabbed his helmet. A solid tan colored Ops-Core helmet, it was a little gift he and his teammates took when transferring to Task Force 141. Worn over his Sordin headset, the helmet Sandman picked sat snug on his head.

Grinch and the fourth member, Frost, walked up to Sandman. "So, we start headin' west?" Grinch asked, his southern drawl very apparent.

"Yeah," Sandman repied. "we're moving west and we will circle around the favelas. See if we can cut off Rojas while Royce and the others chase him. Was there any intel on these guys?"

Frost shook his head no while Grinch shrugged. "Just a couple o' AKs in the van."

"Damn. Oh well. We gotta move. Archer?"

"_Go for Archer."_ The sniper replied.

"This is Charlie Team, we're moving. Let me know when you have eyes on us."

"_Will do Sandman, keep your heads on a swivel bro. Royce and his team are already getting close to trouble. Don't want the same for you guys."_

"Roger. Let's move Charlie."

Sandman and the Deltas ran towards the warehouse MacTavish and Ghost were in and passed it. They could hear gunfire in the distance and the frantic radio transmissions coming from the other team. Keeping the favelas to his right, Sandman guided his team through Rio tried to find a way in from the back. The gunfire was getting louder and the amount of weapons shooting increased. It felt like they had stirred up the hornet's nest. Then came the call no one wanted to hear at that moment. Roach's voice came across the channel, clear and crisp.

"_Meat's down!"_

Archer's voice came across as well. _"All team leads! This is Delta, we are displacing. Say again, we are displacing."_

"Archer, Sandman. Head to the favelas, Meat's down and we gotta get moving. I'm heading there now. See if we can rendezvous, how copy?"

"_Sandman, Archer. Roger last. Heading to the favelas now."_

"Roach? You there? It's Sandman."

"_This is Roach."_ Sanderson's voice came in stressed and gunshots was heard in the background.

"Roach, I need your team to stay put. Do what you can for Meat and get him ready for evac. Archer's on his way to you now and I'm trying to flank you guys and come in from the west. Can you do that for me?"

"_Roger! Royce, Royce, get over here!"_

Sandman turned to Charlie Team. There was more gunfire coming from Archer's last position. The former Delta took a deep breath and nodded to his team. The three operatives nodded back in confirmation and the foursome entered an alley, knowing they were about to walk through a meat grinder.

Keeping a bearing on the warehouse MacTavish was in; Sandman led his team through the winding alleys and curves through the favela. The sounds were getting louder and shadows were moving all around them. Three men ran across a rooftop and aimed AK-47s at the team. Truck and Sandman dropped to a knee while Grinch and Frost dove for cover. By the time the three gunmen drew a bead on the former Deltas, Sandman's MP7 fired two rounds each at the two men he was aiming for while Truck's shotgun blew a hole in the third gunman's chest.

They were now officially in the fight. Sandman mentally cursed himself for not having his trusty M4A1. In fact, the entire team was packing MP7 except Truck who chose a Remington 870 shotgun instead of his usual Mk.48 M249 SAW. The four moved deeper into the chaos and spotted several dead militia members strewn across the battlefield. They were getting closer to the downed team.

There was a loud gunshot, a sound only a Dragunov could produce, and Royce's voice followed.

"Roach, I'm hit."

Sandman turned the corner and found a bloodied Roach, crouched over a dead Meat and a wounded Royce. Archer and his team were nowhere to be seen. Frost immediately ran for Royce, who already had a medic working on him and tried to assist while Truck and Grinch took up defensive positions. The Master Sergeant crouched by the team member.

"You hit, Roach?" The Sergeant stared at the operator wide-eyed. Despite being an experienced member of the Task Force, seeing two of his friends hit had pushed Roach into a state of shock. "Roach? Shit, he's in shock. Truck, Grinch, hold these fuckers off while I get shit figured out here."

The two Deltas nodded and kept shooting. Truck threw his shotgun to the side and picked up Meat's SCAR-L. Sandman clicked on his radio.

"Archer, where the hell are you?!"

Instead of Archer's smooth baritone, MacTavish's heavily accented voice replied. _"This is Hotel-Six. Ghost and I are on Rojas' tail. We need someone to chase him from the side. Who's up?"_

"_Hotel-Six, this Ozone. Scarecrow and I can move in from behind."_

"_Make it happen. Take a marksman like Roach with you."_

"_Roger"_ Came the reply.

As if by coincidence, the four man Delta Team appeared from around the corner, bloody and panting. The two snipers dropped into a crouch and Scarecrow produce a package that no one stopped to think about.

Bearcat's body.

Sandman clicked his radio. "Hotel-Six, that's a no-go. Roach is out, he's in shock. Grinch will go. How copy?"

"_Good enough."_

Sandman looked at the assembled Task Force. "Aright. Keep working on Royce, and see if you can snap Roach back to reality. Toad, get some kind of extraction here. We need a CASEVAC for several criticals. Ozone, take Scarecrow and Grinch, and meet up with MacTavish. Get Rojas. Move."

The operatives were about to move when Roach stood up, the shock shaken away. "I'll go. Boss needs me to go, I'm fine. I'll do it."

Sandman nodded. "Go with them, do your thing and get to MacTavish."

The three men ran off into the heart of the firefight while the others defended their position. A grueling twenty minutes later, extraction in the form of a Pave Low helicopter came in, hovering over a cleared area. The Task Force had a former informant known only by his code name Nikolai around and he was more than willing to get his former comrades out of danger. Sandman led the remaining team members on board but stayed outside on a knee. Leaving several operators out in the field was something the Master Sergeant had never done, but Royce was barely hanging in there. Meat and Bearcat were already dead. The 46 year old shook his head and took a step in the opposite direction, back in the fray, but Nikolai stopped him.

"We have to get movin' Master Sergeant. We have to go now. General Shepherd has transportation on standby to pick up the others. Worst case scenario, I pick them up after I drop you guys off."

Sandman reluctantly nodded and boarded the chopper. MacTavish and Ghost were still out there, chasing Rojas. And Roach, Scarecrow and Ozone were somewhere out there trying to find the CO. This Op had gone from too easy to the biggest balls up mission the Task Force had been on. Sandman took a seat at the very end and didn't dare look at the casualties.

Royce died on the way out.

**Author's note:** So, here is my first Call of Duty fic. It's an offshoot of Modern Warfare 2, but from other points of view. I got this idea from reading SassySatsuma's _Caught in the System_ while playing Modern Warfare 2 and noticing that there is a random TF141 soldier with the callsign _Sandman_ that fights at the gulag. Well, knowing that he was a completely other dude from Modern Warfare 3, I thought it would be cool to make them the same guy and throw him into the spotlight before the Modern Warfare 3 timeline, together with his team. Hope you guys like it.


End file.
